“Never does Nature say one thing and Wisdom another” [quote: Juvenal]

Amazingly, if one wants to be socially busy in this area, the towns of Terlingua, Alpine, Marfa, Fort Davis and Marathon, even Valentine, all near by, offer quite some entertainment in so many forms and shapes. It generally happens on the weekend, the crowds are drawn as when present I am still always wondering where they came from. Big days these past Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Marfa. A combination of Art Galleries with open houses, a Music Festival and a stop over by the Shelby cars as they did last year near by Lajitas. I remember being in Marfa a couple years ago, it was the day the town fed 3000 people, it was a sight and an experience not to miss.

I thought maybe it would be the same scenario, but this time the crowds where much thinner even if the best food in town “The Food Shark” had a long line, well worth for their Falafel sandwich. It just was not the same on that day’s sunny streets, and probably not means to be, I had not read much about the festivities. We managed to bump into my Friends and neighbors Paul and Voni who themselves were chatting with a couple riders starting their own six months Journey on the road. I think they were slowly shedding their 9 to 5 memories, as a bit later seeing them again I could hear them say “we should do this full time…”. Who knows, maybe they will get the real fever and not turn around.

Moving right along it was that time to check out the expensive cars, the fast ones, specially the Ford Shelby GTX1, with an engine I was told boosting 1000 horsepower, this particular one, serial number 001. I did not ask the price tag, probably enough for us to be on the road for 10 years with under 100 horsepower. It kind of makes sense, a 100 per year, horsepower that is.

We saw the Cat Woman on our way to El Cosmico, a lodging concept from Liz Lambert and her management company, Bunkhouse. She was the creative force behind the popular Hotel San Jose in Austin, as well as the city’s landmark coffee house, Jo’s Hot Coffee. Lambert’s first project in Marfa, the Thunderbird Hotel, met with critical acclaim, not only for its clean, crisp aesthetic, but also for its respect for the austere West Texas landscape.

“Lambert’s new project, El Cosmico, broke ground in Marfa, Texas, in the winter of 2006. “El Cosmico will be a Trans-Pecos kibbutz for the 21st century—part yurt and hammock hotel, part residential living, part art-house, greenhouse, amphitheater and farmer’s market—a community space that fosters artistic and intellectual exchange.”

“As part of the overall aim to build community in a creative and sustainable space, twenty to thirty renovated vintage trailers will be sold to make up a small village on the site. Owners will have the option to put their various Vagabond and Spartan trailers into a rental pool when they’re not in residence. Over time, Lambert will also add yurts, hammocks and rammed earth buildings to the property to create El Cosmico’s unconventional hotel. A large pool and pavilion will lie at the Bedouin heart of the village—residents and visitors can cool off in the summer months with a swim, or warm up in the winter in wood-fired hot tubs.”

We had been by quite a few times, but I imagine not being a resident it had always been locked. Because the Music Festival was taking place on the grounds it was my chance to admire those old campers. I particularly liked the wood fired hot tubs which took me a bit to guess what they were. I was originally seeing a giant coffee cup with their handle! 

A bit more of walking around digesting the long missed Falafel sandwich I had enjoyed, and it was time to head back, back to the “Ranch” sometimes I joke about. There was not much else going on besides the upcoming Music which we did not attend. 5 Galleries have closed down, the couple we went in are on stand still, one was even in mid construction when the money has now ran out. The Hotels are full and so are the Restaurants, I guess entertainment is still in the budget, Art has taken a step back.

Tonight my right arm is nearly off it’s socket as I have spend the day putting up this new wonderful tent. I had secured some help to drive the stakes in this rocky ground, but, he never showed up… I won’t go there. Everything was laid out early, the frame was partially up, I was lucky however, only 16 stakes versus the 45 I was told. The floor still needs to be secured, but at least it is not going to now blow away due to another storm approaching this space. I am finding it much more easier to post photos than to write! Of course below is our sunset… the never ending Wisdom of Mother Nature.

Till next time, you be well.
Always.

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Ara & Spirit

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at 9:03 pm and is filed under travel, spirituality, pit bull, sidecar, motorcycle, cooking, photography, riding, homeless. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.